Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Race: Acura Sports Car Challenge
Date: May 5, 2019
No. 6 Acura ARX-05 DPi – Dane Cameron/Juan Pablo Montoya
Start: 3rd
Overall Finish: 1st
Class Finish: 1st
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 123/123
Recap:
- Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya scored their first win for Acura Team Penske – the second win in team history – in Sunday's Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio.
- Cameron qualified the No. 6 Acura DPi in the third position on Saturday afternoon and was frustrated after having a shot to win the pole position. He took those frustrations out on the field early in the event, motoring to a six-second lead after taking the lead on lap 8.
- On lap 29, Cameron made his way to pit road for a driver change to Montoya, who would take the reigns of the Acura the rest of the way. Montoya cycled back to the lead after pit stops were complete on lap 31.
- While battling heavy lapped traffic, Montoya briefly lost the lead to the No. 77. He was able to gain it back during a pit exchange on lap 62, making up a three-second deficit in the process. Thanks to some veteran maneuvering through traffic, Montoya never relinquished the lead, crossing the finish line three seconds ahead of second place.
- The No. 6 team is now fourth in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi standings, eight points out of the lead.
- The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series will next visit the Raceway at Belle Isle Park in Detroit on Saturday, June 1 for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.
Quote:
"Dane did an amazing job in qualifying and at the beginning of the race. We had a great strategy, saved a bit of fuel, and had good stop[s] and good 'in' and 'out' laps. Dane was frustrated after the qualifying session yesterday and you could tell he was determined to get the win today, as was I. The No. 6 Acura was really hooked up and it was a blast to drive it to the win."
- Juan Pablo Montoya
No. 7 Acura ARX-05 DPi – Helio Castroneves/Ricky Taylor
Start: 2nd
Overall Finish: 5th
Class Finish: 5th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 122/123
Recap:
- Early-race contact kept Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor from contending for their second-consecutive win in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio on Sunday afternoon, but the duo was still able to grab a top-five finish to stay in the thick of the points battle.
- Helio Castroneves qualified the No. 7 Acura DPi in the second position, the team's fourth top-three start in the four IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races this season, during the Saturday afternoon qualifying session.
- At the drop of the green flag the race got into a frenetic start for the No. 7 team as aggressive driving by one competitor led to Castroneves contacting the No. 31, 5 and 55 entries, resulting in heavy right-front damage to the Acura and dropping him to sixth in the running order.
- Castroneves was able to use his driving tools inside the cockpit to help the handling on the machine until he was able to pit on lap 30 for repairs and a driver change to Taylor.
- Taylor, who piloted the No. 7 Acura over the final stints of the team's 2018 win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, took the driving duties to the end again. Running on a different pit strategy than the leaders, Taylor was able to race his way into the top five before the checkered flag, finishing as the first car one lap down.
- With the finish, the No. 7 Acura remains second in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi standings, four points out of the lead with the next event coming on the streets of the Raceway at Belle Isle Park in Detroit on June 1.
Quote:
"It was a difficult weekend at Mid-Ohio for the No. 7 Acura team. I feel like we had the speed to race our teammates for the win today, but whether it was in qualifying or at the start of the race we just had a lot of unfortunate situations happen to us. Ricky did a great job in getting us into the top five at the end of the race, which allowed us to only give up two points in the championship heading into Detroit where we finished second last year."
- Helio Castroneves